Unfortunately for men everywhere the film industry is cash driven, which is why we see so many terrible romantic comedies (they’re cheap and rake in a lot of ticket sales) instead of the action-packed extravaganzas we like so much. The more disconnected from the real world a film is, the higher the costs are. More atmosphere means more sets, more costumes, more everything. Coming off his huge success with the Pirates of the Caribbean films Gore Verbinski set his sights on the BioShock film.
Universal Pictures has been behind the project so far, but when the budget rose to over $160 million they halted production. Verbinski has said that he’s determined to get the film made. Universal hasn’t said they’re backing out completely but they are pushing the director to take filming outside of the USA to take advantage of tax credits and Verbinski said London is one of the locations they’re considering. With the incredible amount of special effects and scenery needed to truly portray the eerie underwater city of rapture it’s hard to guess how much Universal expected to be able to make the film for, especially given the epic quality of the Pirates trilogy.
A favorite method of governments to silence the complaints of consumers over a products harmful effects is the warning label. Whether it’s the worrying “cigarettes are linked to heart disease and cancer” on American tobacco products or the less subtle “smoking kills” labels on UK packages slapping a sticker on something is a compromise that politicians love.
Possibly to garner support from concerned parents and social conservatives Representative Joe Baca (D, CA) is proposing a similar act for video games. The “Video Game Health Labeling Act” as it’s called would apply this warning sticker to all games rated T for Teen or higher: “WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior.”
As with many video game related government initiatives this reeks of knee-jerk reactions from politicians who know very little about video games, listening to cadres of worried parents who attribute the cause of tragedy to the media versus mental instability and reading supremely flawed research with no real ability to judge its merits.
In a letter Baca sent around seeking co-sponsors he pointed to research claiming a causal link between video game violence and real world aggression; research that has already been denounced by the federal government, especially since one of the first things any responsible researcher learns is that it’s nearly impossible to prove causation of any phenomenon.
There are some serious flaws to this bill. Firstly it would inaccurately portray many games as containing violent content. Games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero are given teen ratings because of the more mature content of many of the songs involved, but there’s no actual violence involved. Poker games and snowboarding games are also rated T for Teen and although it’s hard not to wince at watching a virtual snowboarder mess up a trick and slam into the ground, it’s not the sort of content parents are worried about.
Finally the sheer fact of the matter is that the current ratings system is enough. Despite occasional reports of vendors selling mature games to minors, the vast majority of parents are reporting that they are aware of the ratings system and are satisfied with it.
Game developer/publish Atlus has recently announced that their website, Atlus.com, has been hacked by a “third-party entity” who also managed to embed a trojan within the website.
Atlus is saying that users who visited the website on April 25th should seriously consider running antivirus software because the trojan could have spread.
The company also issued an apology stating “The faith and trust of our fans is of the utmost importance to us, a responsibility we don’t take lightly.” Don’t worry Atlus, we won’t hold it against ya!
Read (Joystiq)
If you didn’t know, Capcom has recently released the Power Up Pack that we first learned about earlier this month, for the PS3 and Xbox 360.
There are 2 prominent updates featured in the free pack; Championship Mode and Replay Mode. The Championship Mode is just that, you’ll be automatically seeded based on your skill level and then get the chance to participate in a single elimination tournament against players from around the world.
The Replay Mode on the other hand allows users to record and download other players matches so you’ll be able to relive that clutch Super Combo over and over.
Again, the Power Up Pack has been available for a few days and is free for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
If you’ve ever used WiiCade on your Wii, you’ll be familiar with this one – It was recently announced that the website DSiCade has gone live in a beta form.
DSiCade offers gamers with the chance to play free games on their Nintendo DSi using a web browser. There’s only 2 mediocre games and a shoutbox currently displayed but once the site continues to grow it will be a great stop for DSi users everywhere.
Read (DSiCade)
If you’ve been dying to play your NES on the go but don’t to build your own portable device you should check out the recently announced FC Mobile II.
As you can see, the FC Mobile II looks like what you’d expect from a handheld console except it’s bundled with 2 wireless controllers and a Duck Hunt-esque light gun. So, it’s safe to say you’ll be able to connect this thing to an external monitor.
OhGizmo says the FC Mobile II is expected to ship sometime next month for a none-too-bad price of $60, I want one.
Best Buy is holding a large video game sale for most consoles like the Xbox 360, Playstation and Wii today. Prices have all been marked down to $9.99, a far cry from their original prices which started at $60.
Over 100 games are on sale, but if you don’t want to wade through the whole list, here’s a few recommendations. Xbox 360 owners could do a lot worse than C&C: Red Alert 3, Condemned 2, and Devil May Cry 4. On PS3, Pure, Guitar Hero 3, and Soul Calibur 4 are good choices. On the Wii, the selection’s not quite so good, but Samba de Amigo’s a great choice if you like off-beat rhythm games.
Just like the famed sales made by Circuit City some months back, you better get to Best Buy quick if you want to get hold of those games for a steal!
(Source) Yahoo
Online retailer Amazon has revealed the retail packaging of the upcoming Fallout 3 DLC pack. The pack will include Operation Anchorage and The Pitt, and will retail for $20 — the same price for the online DLC. Although, you’ll get a physical game box plus a Pip Boy poster as well. The new pack will be released on Amazon on May 26, but will not include the upcoming Broken Steel DLC — which will retail for $10 as well.
Game rental service GameFly has filed an official complaint with the Postal Regulatory Commission against United States Postal Service, claiming that USPS breaks thousands of game discs each year, and favors competitors Netflix and Blockbuster.
GameFly revealed that the company ships almost 600,000 discs each month, while receiving over 500,000 discs returned form customers. GameFly estimates that up to two percent of games are broken, which leads to a loss of almost 300,000 dollars a month — 3.6 million each year in costs of replacing the discs.
More here.
